Mr. Speaker, the past 14 presidents of ADISQ have sounded the alarm: without proper legislation governing streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, Québécois music is in jeopardy. They are asking the federal government to force streaming services to make a financial contribution to our culture, pay artists what they are worth, and showcase Quebec content.

The film and television industries made similar demands regarding Netflix. It is time to open our eyes to what is going on. The digital transformation is hurting all of our artists, and our entire culture is fading away online.

The solution is not botched ad hoc deals like the one the government signed with Netflix. The solution is a complete overhaul of e-commerce legislation to compel companies to obey our laws. The law should apply to everyone, period.

Mr. Speaker, an issue that affects my riding of Calgary Centre, and in fact the entire country, is homelessness and home insecurity. Over 150,000 Albertans do not have access to adequate, safe, affordable housing. That is why I was excited this week to announce in beautiful Banff our Liberal government's investment of $10 million in eight cost-effective, energy-efficient affordable housing projects. Phase one will create up to 467 rental units. The first project is the YWCA courtyard in Banff, a three-storey building, housing 78 at-risk women.

Our government understands that it is difficult, if not impossible, to build a life without a home. Project by project, our government is bringing affordable housing to Alberta. After a decade of inaction by the previous government, this type of major investment in affordable housing is long overdue.

Mr. Speaker, With voting just one year awayI though it was time to re-playAll the promises brokenWhile people are tokingSo the Liberals get voted awayI'll start with the latest denialThat keeps one navy man from fair trialAnd then there's the scamsThat's related to clamsAnd I'll add several more to the pileThose tiny wee debts that becameHuge spending with Liberals to blameNo end is in sightOf their deficit plightUnless voters or CBC take aimTheir carbon tax lie is the worstYou can tell that they've really rehearsedBut it won't fix a thingJust a Liberal cha-ChingTo take from the taxpayers firstI certainly don't have the timeTo list all ill deeds in this rhymeI've just got a minuteBut Conservatives will win itAnd then life will be just sublimeWe'll balance the budget you'll seeAnd restore the economyWith help top of mindFor all peoplekindTo bring Canada prosperity

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked a sombre anniversary in the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia. It was at 8:06 p.m. on October 23, 1958 that Springhill changed forever. One hundred and seventy-four coal miners went to work that morning, but only 99 came home. A natural disaster known as the “Springhill Bump” occurred, collapsing the No. 2 colliery, killing 75 miners. It was one of the most severe coal mine bumps in North America's history, leaving many families without fathers, husbands, brothers or uncles.

The site of the closed mine is now the Springhill Coal Mining National Historic Site of Canada, and a commemorative monument has been erected in Springhill's town centre to honour the lives of the miners lost, as well as their families.

I send my thoughts to Springhill on the 60th anniversary of the bump, and I can assure everyone that Springhillers will never forget the bravery of the miners and rescuers from Springhill and the surrounding areas who went underground to save their fellow miners.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Concordia Hospital's 90 years of service to northeast Winnipeg. In 1928, a group of newcomers came together to open a maternity hospital. It was such a success that it has been either moving or expanding ever since. lt opened its current location in 1974, and since then has become a centre of excellence in hip and knee surgery. It opened Concordia Place, offering more personal care home beds to northeast Winnipeg, and its emergency room has offered needed care to people in crisis.

Unfortunately, the provincial Conservative government plans to close the ER in the new year. Other ERs in Winnipeg have been replaced with urgent care centres, but for some reason, northeast Winnipeg has been singled out to be the only part of the city losing 24-7 access to care. People of northeast Winnipeg have been pushing back. We deserve the same access to care as every other part of the city, and if the Conservatives cared at all about northeast Winnipeg, they would give their heads a shake and keep the Concordia ER open.

Mr. Speaker, the election in Toronto is over, and we have to talk about a very disturbing incident that took place during the campaign.

On October 2, following a demonstration held by a mayoralty candidate who is a white supremacist, a fire was deliberately set at a hotel that shelters homeless families and refugees. The attack followed false and inflammatory information that was published by the Toronto Sun. Elected officials, some in this House, have argued that people being sheltered at this hotel do not have a right to be in Canada.

Let me make three very clear points.

One, more than half the people at that hotel that was firebombed are children. Who in their right mind targets children?

Two, the City of Toronto has used hotels as emergency shelters for well over 25 years. We have a housing crisis in Toronto, not a refugee crisis.

Three, Toronto must never be governed by fear, violence or racism.

Everyone in this House denounces these horrible atrocities, and we demand that the people responsible be brought to justice.

Mr. Speaker, today is World Polio Day, a day to shine a spotlight on international efforts to end polio. On the subject of global polio eradication, Nelson Mandela said it best, back in 1996: “[O]ur aim is not merely to reduce the numbers afflicted - it is to eliminate the disease completely. No country can be safe from this disease until the whole world is rid of it.”

Today, we are closer to that goal than ever, and Canada has played a leading role. In fact, three Canadian prime ministers, Jean Chrétien, Stephen Harper and the current Prime Minister, have been recipients of the Rotary Foundation's Polio Eradication Champion Award. This is a testament to Canada's enduring commitment to this fight, working with equally dedicated partners, like Rotary International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Citizen, UNICEF and RESULTS.

Here, it is all too rare for us to find common ground, but in uniting around the efforts of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we have done so, and the world is a better place for it. Now we need to finish the job, once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, since Watson and Crick decoded the double-helix shape of deoxyribonucleic acid, scientists and policy-makers alike have been dreaming of the benefits this discovery would have in the real world.

New DNA sequencing and computing tools have caused an inflection point in DNA research, and there is now an unsurpassed opportunity to leverage the value of genetics in our daily lives. Since 2000, Genome Canada has led the way, as a vital partner in helping the Government of Canada deliver on our national potential in genomics. In particular, Genome Canada has helped us leverage $1.5 billion of federal funding to well over $3 billion, including provincial government and industry partner support. I would particularly like to thank Genome Canada for launching a leading environmental genomics facility in my riding of St. John's East, called eDNAtec.

I invite all members to join Genome Canada on Parliament Hill today where its scientists will be available to teach us about their exciting industry.

Mr. Speaker, women students from Collège Sainte-Anne, a school in Lachine in my riding, are on Parliament Hill today.

Collège Sainte-Anne has a long history. In May 1861, the Sisters of Sainte-Anne, a congregation founded in 1850 by Esther Blondin, who later became Mother Marie-Anne, took possession of the Simpson Manor.

At a time when women did not have the right to express an opinion, let alone get an education, Mother Marie-Anne challenged the status quo by founding this institution, thereby inspiring future generations of women to pursue their studies. That institution, the oldest school in Quebec, has become a symbol of progress for women.

Mother Marie-Anne's love and courage made it possible for generations of women and girls to get an education and help create a better society.

Mr. Speaker, October 28 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. Citizens of both the current Czech Republic and Slovakia celebrate this day.

Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. This velvet revolution was a non-violent transition of power that happened in the wake of demonstrations against the Communist regime. This revolution ultimately ended the dictatorial single-party governance of Czechoslovakia, giving both new nations their independence and sovereignty. Today these two countries live peacefully side by side in prosperity and together share a special 100th anniversary.

As chair of the Canada-Slovakia friendship group, and as a proud Canadian of Slovak heritage, I want to take today to wish all of those celebrating here in Canada and abroad a happy 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on World Polio Day to recognize the efforts of governments, health workers, partners, donors and volunteers who are working hard to stop this virus for good.

Two years ago, the Minister of International Development announced major Canadian support for the global polio eradication initiative, which seeks to end polio by 2020. The UN Foundation, CanWaCH, RESULTS Canada, Global Citizen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and UNICEF have been hustling to make this vision a reality. Rotary International has also been doing heavy lifting. I want to thank all Rotarians, especially the ones in Whitby, who are leading the fight.

Canada has long been a champion of global health and polio eradication. I think every member in this House would agree. Let us keep taking bold steps to end polio.

Mr. Speaker, this week is Access to Justice Week. Launched by The Action Group on Access to Justice, the goal is to ensure that our justice system addresses the needs of all Canadians, including the most vulnerable, who either exist on the periphery of our system or are victimized by it. We share this goal.

Our government is committed to improving access to justice. In Bill C-78, we are streamlining family justice to make things less complex and less costly for single parents seeking the financial support they are owed, the vast majority of whom are single women. In Bill C-75, we are improving criminal justice to end peremptory challenges and ensure that our juries actually represent our communities, which will directly impact indigenous persons and black Canadians, two groups overrepresented in the criminal justice system. We have overhauled our judicial appointments system, because we know that accessing justice improves when Canadians can see themselves reflected on a more diverse bench.

Access to justice is a priority for our government, not just this week but 52 weeks a year.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we found out the details of the Prime Minister's forced plan to raise people's taxes, and sure enough, it looks like rural Canadians are going to be bearing the brunt of this ill-thought-out tax grab. At every turn, the Prime Minister has failed rural Canadians. When one lives in a rural community, one sometimes has to drive long distances to get to work, drop kids off at school, go to the grocery store to buy groceries or even go to a medical appointment. Rural Canadians do not have the same transportation options as people living in urban areas. There is no magical subway for people to just jump on in the middle of the Prairies, and I can assure the Prime Minister that there are no designated bike lanes on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Today I call on Liberal MPs from rural Canada to stand up to the Prime Minister, fight for their constituents, oppose this carbon tax grab and, for Heaven's sake, do not let him financially hurt those who call rural Canada home.

Mr. Speaker, today is the first-ever Brain Cancer Awareness Day in Canada.

While we have made significant progress and advancements in various forms of cancer treatment, there is still much left to be done. That is why our government is undertaking a series of measures to modernize our health care system so that we will be in a better position to provide greater access to new treatments for diseases like brain cancer.

With disease awareness comes hope and support for research. I would like to recognize the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, a national non-profit organization based in London, Ontario. This week they launched “Hats for Hope”, a nationwide brain cancer awareness campaign calling on all Canadians to show support for increased brain cancer research.

I extend my thoughts and support to all Canadians impacted by brain cancer. Together we can make a difference.

Mr. Speaker, a recent study showed that more than one-third of women who use shelters have suffered a brain injury as a result of domestic violence. Unfortunately, no one ever talks about that.

All too often, victims of domestic violence are women with disabilities. No one ever talks about that either. I would like to thank the DisAbled Women's Network Canada for the work it does on this issue.

While we are examining the accessibility legislation, we should ensure that women's shelters get more resources. The government promised that victims fleeing domestic violence would not be left without support and that it would increase funding for shelters and safe houses.

It is therefore high time the government took action to give them all the resources they need and ensure that all women always have somewhere to go no matter where they are in this country.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to face the consequences of the Prime Minister's continued failures. Now he is forcing a carbon tax on provinces that do not have a Liberal-approved climate plan.

Now, we have all heard them say how well the B.C. carbon tax is doing out west. The truth is that despite having the highest carbon tax in this country, emissions in that province continue to rise. In fact, the only thing the tax has done in B.C. is force British Columbians to pay more for gas than anywhere in North America.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister actually said that this tax would be revenue neutral. Only a Liberal could say, with a straight face, that a new tax would leave more money in someone's pocket. As Brad Wall said last night, usually when someone tells people to send in money and they will get more back in return, we all know that it is an email phishing scam.

Mr. Speaker, October 24 is celebrated every year as United Nations Day. It is the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, which established the UN in 1945. It was recognized, following the atrocities of World War II, that a global forum was needed that would have, at its foundation, respect for human rights, peacekeeping and the establishment of an international, rules-based order.

Since that time, the United Nations has been at the forefront of humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping and peacemaking, conflict prevention, and the building of vital diplomatic spaces for the discussion and resolution of global problems such as war, poverty, climate change, migration, the preservation of cultural heritage and more.

I have had the honour of working with the UNDP and UN Women on projects to promote democracy, inclusive governance and gender equality. Today I pay tribute to all those Canadians who work so hard to build a better world for our children through their work with the United Nations.

Mr. Speaker, for the second consecutive year, the Prime Minister is going after small businesses. Unlike large corporations that are entitled to special deals with the Liberals, small businesses will bear the brunt of the Prime Minister's carbon tax.

Why is it that every time the Prime Minister increases taxes, the people who can least afford it are the ones who end up paying the most?

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we are proud of lowering small business taxes to 9%, which is the lowest small business tax rate in the G7.

Canadians expect us to put a price on pollution and to take climate action. This is exactly what we are doing, while ensuring that families, small businesses and our institutions are protected during the transition. This is exactly what we are doing.

The Conservatives do not want to take action and have no plan to fight climate change.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister talked about protecting businesses, but it turns out that his carbon tax scheme protects large corporate emitters by giving them a massive exemption from the costs they will have to pay. Small businesses that will face rising fuel and home heating costs will have to bear the brunt of his new carbon tax plan.

Therefore, the question is very simple. Will he grant the same exemption to small and medium-size businesses he has given to large corporate emitters?

Mr. Speaker, that is simply not true. We are moving forward with putting a price on pollution, taking real action on fighting climate change, something the Conservatives were unwilling and unable to do for 10 years while in government, and evidently, continue to be unwilling to do. They have no plan to approach the fight against climate change and will not put a price on pollution. They want to make pollution free again. We are putting a price on pollution and are supporting families so they are actually better off with our plan to fight climate change.

Mr. Speaker, as the many Canadians who were watching my intervention yesterday saw, I predicted that the Conservatives would end up trying to find a rhetorical trick to make this seem very complicated and very difficult. Therefore, let us make it very simple. We are putting a price on pollution because we want less pollution, and putting a price on it actually reduces pollution. At the same time, we are putting money in the pockets of Canadians to help them through the fight against climate change, because we know that Canadians expect real action, real action they are incapable of—